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Author Topic: G3 Likes and Dislikes? - HP 180 Boat Review  (Read 66276 times)

Offline Curt

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G3 Likes and Dislikes? - HP 180 Boat Review
« on: January 25, 2015, 11:18:47 AM »
I've had my 2007 G3 HP180 since 2008. I bought it as a leftover at the very end of 2007 and picked it up in early 2008.

Overall, I love this boat and the way it's built/laid out. It really has everything you need for tourney fishing on small to medium sized waters.





  • two livewells
  • recirculating pumps
  • Livewell pump out system
  • big outboard
  • HP (high performance) hull
  • large front deck
  • 90 inch beam
  • livewell timers
  • dual rod lockers
  • ample storage
  • etc.

I love the way the boat handles. It literally jumps out of the hole and is on full plane in about 2.5 seconds. It corners like a dream and handles chop with no big issues. It's also comfortable to ride in when running the outboard.



The rod lockers are OK, with plenty of storage, but I despise the rod tubes. The lockers also had some kind of rod management system, where there were places to rest each rod handle. But in all honesty, they were very poorly designed and trying to get each handle into its resting place was sheer madness. I ultimately took them out so the rod handles just rest where they can, without being worried about fitting each rod handle into a specific slot. As I said, I despise the rod tubes. I would much prefer an open locker.





The livewells are awesome, and much bigger than they look in this pic. I've never had a fish die in them because of lack of water or oxygen. Having the dual livewells is also a huge plus when I'm fishing solo because I can keep cull fish separate from fish that are more likely not going to be culled because they're big.



The console is decent, but not big enough to mount any electronics in-dash. All of the controls and gauges are in reasonable locations, with everything being easy to reach and to see. My one gripe about the switches is the funky textured background color, which you can see here in the pic. It looks nice, but can make it really, really hard to see the labels for the switches.





The cockpit area is comfortable, as I mentioned earlier. There is a step up to the front deck, which is nice, but it's also wasted space because there is no door or lid in it to allow me to store anything under it. One thing that was well thought out with that step is the way the front of it is angled. It makes a great place for a passenger to put their feet against to brace themselves in rough water  ;D



The bilge area is OK, but a tad small, in my opinion. With the fuel tank and 3 batteries, the space is all but used up. Also on the negative side, there was only room for 2 group 27 batteries and one group 24 for cranking. I much prefer to run 3 group 27s. This also eliminates the possibility of running a 36 volt TM in the future, unless I come up with a creative way to store a 3rd group 27 somewhere.

Filling the oil tank is OK, not too hard to access. I do have to use a funnel, though, since the filler hole is well below the surface of the lid.



The hull is really nice with regard to design. The HP aspects give it a nice pad to run on, unlike most aluminum boats. This thing hugs corners like a dream, with no sliding that's typical of most aluminum boats.



The back deck is of decent proportions, where a co-angler can fish comfortably. I've seen some boats where the back deck is so small it literally looks like an afterthought. Not so with this boat. There are also two storage compartments in the rear deck that are watertight and have slots for Plano boxes to slide into.



They're not huge, but they make a great place to stow extra clothing, extra reels, etc.

Overall, I really like this boat and have only a few complaints, which were mentioned above. The bummer about this is that the HP models are no longer made  :'(

G3 said they were too expensive to manufacturer with all of the extras that were included. They now only make the Eagle series.

If I had to give this boat a rating from 1 - 10, I would give it an 8. Keep in mind that's based on how it  fits my needs and my overall experience with it.

G3 has been a great company to deal with in the 1 or 2 instances where I needed warranty work. Their customer service is top notch.

I hope this info helps someone who may be considering buying a G3 boat in the future.

Any other G3 owners out there, feel free to chime in with your own boat review or comments on this one :)
« Last Edit: January 25, 2015, 12:09:59 PM by Curt »

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Re: G3 Likes and Dislikes? - HP 180 Boat Review
« Reply #1 on: January 25, 2015, 08:21:37 PM »
Great overview and review. :)

Offline Jig Man

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Re: G3 Likes and Dislikes? - HP 180 Boat Review
« Reply #2 on: January 30, 2015, 10:26:14 PM »
They are made about 50 miles down the road from me.  They came from a family of boat builders.  Does Yamaha still own them?
If you're too busy to go fishing you're too busy!!

Offline Curt

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Re: G3 Likes and Dislikes? - HP 180 Boat Review
« Reply #3 on: January 30, 2015, 10:55:51 PM »
They are made about 50 miles down the road from me.  They came from a family of boat builders.  Does Yamaha still own them?

Yes, Yamaha does still own them :)

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Offline Curt

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Re: G3 Likes and Dislikes? - HP 180 Boat Review
« Reply #4 on: January 30, 2015, 10:56:59 PM »

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Re: G3 Likes and Dislikes? - HP 180 Boat Review
« Reply #5 on: February 21, 2015, 10:22:38 AM »
I have a HP180 also- 2004 hull and 03 engine.  I Skeeter/Yamaha owns them.  The thing I don't like is that they don't make these models anymore!  I have a dual console with one split live-well with a baffle between the two sides.  I never use rod lockers for anything other than storage on non-rod items. 


« Last Edit: February 21, 2015, 10:26:18 AM by Piker »

Offline Curt

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Re: G3 Likes and Dislikes? - HP 180 Boat Review
« Reply #6 on: February 21, 2015, 11:30:53 AM »
@Piker nice boat!

The 04 models didn't have hydraulic steering, did they?

Mine does and I'm so glad. Another friend of mine has one... Maybe an 04 or 05 And it didn't have it.

Also glad mine actually has 2 separate livewells and not a divided one. Looks like I made out by getting the later model year.

Not sure what I'll do if/when I buy another new boat, since they stopped making the HP series. I might have to move to Xpress.

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Re: G3 Likes and Dislikes? - HP 180 Boat Review
« Reply #7 on: February 21, 2015, 12:15:35 PM »
No hydraulic steering on mine- and maneuvering in tight places can be limiting.  Also- the baffle between the two sides of the live-well can allow some crappie to slip from one side to the other- or they may go over the top of the baffle.  Could cause problems with fish separation and game-wardens when two people fish.  BTW- what size/pich prop do you have on yours?  I have a manual jack-plate on mine and wanted to tweak the set-up a bit to get more speed.  I have to get my water pressure gauge replaced first to prevent going too high and not having water pressure.

Offline Curt

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Re: G3 Likes and Dislikes? - HP 180 Boat Review
« Reply #8 on: February 21, 2015, 12:31:42 PM »
@Piker I'm not at home so I can't check my prop. But I'll check it later on and let you know. I do know that it's a bit on the steep side. It's a beast out of the hole, but I do know that I could get better top end by 're-propping.

I also want to add a jackplate but was told by G3 that this hull had never been tested with a jackplate, so if I add one it will void the warranty on the hull. Probably gonna do it anyway (giggle)
« Last Edit: October 02, 2015, 10:48:23 AM by Curt »

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Re: G3 Likes and Dislikes? - HP 180 Boat Review
« Reply #9 on: February 21, 2015, 12:59:41 PM »
I heard that about the JP, but I bought mine used and it already had a JP on it- I don't know if the previous owner put it on or if it came from the factory before the "No JP" policy took effect.  I haven't had any problem with my transom.  I just checked mine- it is a 23M Linden Prop.  I get 53-54 mph fully loaded, but it is "loaded" with gear.  I would like to crack 60, but I haven't heard of many that could do that.

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Re: G3 Likes and Dislikes? - HP 180 Boat Review
« Reply #10 on: October 01, 2015, 11:07:29 PM »
My latest runs with my G3 have only been 45 mph (5500 rpm), so I found a 25 pitch Yamaha prop to try out.  I measured my prop to pad measurement and it was 5.5 inches.  That seems too deep to me.  I tested my new prop out and it still got up on plane well and the rpms were the same- no speed difference with the new prop though. :'l  So, I raised the jack-plate up as far as it would go with the motor mounted to the plate as it is.  I raised the jack plate up another 1.5 inches maybe, so I'm anxious to try it out again to see how it performs.

Curt- did you ever see what prop you were running on your rig- it seems to the same as mine, so the info would be valuable for me.  Thanks!

Offline Curt

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Re: G3 Likes and Dislikes? - HP 180 Boat Review
« Reply #11 on: October 02, 2015, 10:47:45 AM »
@Piker My prop is a 19 pitch, which seems a bit much to me. But it's what came from the factory and it's what they recommend for this boat with the existing 150 HP Yamaha outboard on it.

I believe a 21 or 23 pitch would make a decent difference, but I don't have the cash to just go buy props to try out.

BTW, I did end up installing a jackplate back in June. I got it for next to nothing from a good friend who had it laying around. It's a 6 inch model TH Marine (manual).

With the plate at its current height (all the way down), I get a solid 53+ with just me and a full tournament load (and about a half tank of gas).

It handles really well setup like this, with little or no blowout on extremely tight turns, and I have no trouble with porpoising or chine walk.

For now I'll leave it as is, until I can figure out a way to test other props without laying out the cash first  (hmm)
« Last Edit: October 02, 2015, 10:51:25 AM by Curt »

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Re: G3 Likes and Dislikes? - HP 180 Boat Review
« Reply #12 on: October 02, 2015, 11:22:27 AM »
Yeah- I went up in prop pitch after seeing what some other folks had with the same rig.  I found a good 25" pitch SS prop for $125 on e-bay, so that was made me check it out.  If it isn't perfect, at least I'll have a spare for emergency use.  I am assuming the pitch as stated by the seller was actually what it is. If I need to go up in motor height more to reduce the prop:pad distance, I will have to move the motor up on the plate, which is beyond my capacity without something to hoist/hold the motor up with.  That and a general tune-up of my engine which appears to be running well.  Interesting that when searching, I saw the previous owner of my boat also investigating set-up for the same boat. 

This is my fall/winter project after my brother threatened to use his 1989 363V Ranger with a 150 in our next tournament after I was passed up by the big dogs way too much.  LOL!  He thinks his Ranger goes faster, but he doesn't have a gps speed reading- just speedo which is notoriously inaccurate.   Thanks for the information!
« Last Edit: October 02, 2015, 11:24:36 AM by Piker »

Offline Curt

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Re: G3 Likes and Dislikes? - HP 180 Boat Review
« Reply #13 on: August 10, 2016, 09:31:27 PM »
@Piker Did you ever try that new prop out, or did you adjust your jackplate at all?

Curious as to how it went for you.  :nod:

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Re: G3 Likes and Dislikes? - HP 180 Boat Review
« Reply #14 on: August 10, 2016, 10:18:19 PM »
Well, my jackplate main bolt is stripped, so the marina that tried to adjust it clamped the side bolts down to what the thought was about right.  I thought about getting a hydraulic jackplate, but didn't pull the trigger yet.  So, I'm still only getting 48-49 top end with it.  I might play with it more over the wintertime.

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